At that moment, Huo Tingzhou, who was being teased by his comrades, had already seen Jiang Si and the two little ones to the gate.
Just before they got into the car, Huo Tingzhou pulled a few family member passes from his jacket pocket.
"Darling, take these when you enter the venue. They'll give you your seat numbers then. It'll be very crowded those days, with lots of vehicles too, so please be extra careful."
Jiang Si took them and gave him an amused look. "Got it, Regiment Commander Huo!"
He had repeated this countless times along the way.
Looking at his profile, slightly reddened by the sun, Jiang Si's tone softened as well. "Take care during training, don't push yourself too hard."
Her visit today was not without its insights.
When Huo Tingzhou came out to meet her, he was still wearing his flight suit, and his back was completely drenched in sweat.
Jiang Si didn't know the specifics of their daily training regimen.
But she knew he worked very hard.
Accumulating military merits and honors was important, of course.
But Jiang Si still hoped he would stay safe and sound.
"Take good care of your health."
The spiritual spring water could repair the hidden ailments in his body, but if something unexpected happened to the plane in the sky, she couldn't guarantee anything.
Jiang Si looked at him, her tone unusually serious. "Military merits, honors, these are all external things. You must rest when it's time to rest."
Huo Tingzhou's heart melted. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
"Really?" Jiang Si glanced at him skeptically.
Meeting her gaze, Huo Tingzhou nodded earnestly. "Mm, I won't lie to you."
He had promised never to lie to her in his lifetime.
He still wanted to live a good life with his wife and watch their children grow up together.
He wouldn't joke about his own safety, let alone make her worry.
Satisfied, Jiang Si then took the two little ones' hands. "Quick, say goodbye to Daddy."
"Dada~ bye bye~~" The two little ones waved their small hands wildly, their words unclear.
Jiang Si couldn't help but laugh. "It's 'goodbye'."
"Bye bye."
"Okay, bye bye."
Huo Tingzhou leaned down. Jiang Si thought he was going to kiss the two babies, but instead his lips came close to her cheek.
Luckily, Uncle Chen wasn't looking this way.
"Head back now." Huo Tingzhou smiled as he opened the car door for her.
"Then we're off."
Huo Tingzhou stepped aside, waving to the mother and her two children.
Then he said to Uncle Chen, "Uncle Chen, thank you for your trouble. Please drive slowly on the way."
Uncle Chen smiled and nodded. "Don't worry."
He watched the car drive away until it was completely out of sight, only then did Huo Tingzhou turn and head back inside.
Several hours later, the day's intensive training came to an end.
Exhausted on the training ground, everyone now cared little about maintaining any semblance of composure, collapsing onto the ground one after another, breathing heavily.
As expected, within two minutes, the voices of the various division's training directors rang in their ears.
Some encouraging, some criticizing.
Each unit's tactical arrangements and pep talks were different, of course.
But the only common thread was, "Get up! What kind of sloppy posture is that! Look at Division Four's Huo..."
Eh, where's Regiment Commander Huo?
Director Bai from the 36th Division stopped mid-sentence.
Strange, he hadn't caught sight of Regiment Commander Huo.
Over at the 31st Division, Director Liu was also saying, "Look at the sheer determination Regiment Commander Huo has, you all..."
Before he could finish, everyone paused.
He was the benchmark figure, the ace player each division usually used to motivate their own teams.
If this person wasn't here, how were they supposed to continue their speeches?
So, one by one, they all strolled over to Division Four's rest area to find Division Four's Director Jin for information.
"Director Jin, where's Regiment Commander Huo?"
Director Jin was also baffled. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since afternoon training."
What? Didn't come to train.
"Then you should go ask about the situation quickly," several urged him. "Don't tell me he's sick or injured?"
"Probably not? He was perfectly fine at lunch in the cafeteria."
Even as he said this, Director Jin immediately went to find Xiao Zhengjun, who shared a room with Huo, to get the details.
"Is Old Huo alright?"
"He's fine, in great health. Probably just tired and wants to rest for a couple of days."
Xiao Zhengjun chuckled. "Director Jin, rest assured, Old Huo is in top form!"
Naturally, Director Jin was confident about that.
Huo Tingzhou's physical fitness and military prowess were among the best in the entire army.
In fact, just a couple of days ago, he had advised Huo Tingzhou.
Told him to balance work and rest.
But the guy agreed verbally, yet still trained with that same fierce intensity.
Had the sun risen from the west today? He actually took the initiative to rest!
Xiao Zhengjun thought to himself, it wasn't the sun rising from the west, it was clearly his wife arriving by car.
Speaking of wives, Xiao Zhengjun's heart also bubbled with joy.
He touched the scarf around his neck. It was a bit thick, but so heartwarming!
He was waiting for Director Jin to ask, so he could show off a little.
Who knew Director Jin would turn and leave immediately.
Could he stay?
Those guys were all waiting for his reply!
And so, as soon as Director Jin arrived at the operations meeting room, the directors from the other divisions gathered around.
Their faces full of concern, they asked, "Well, what's wrong with Regiment Commander Huo?"
Director Jin waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down. "It's nothing, nothing. He just wants to rest for a couple of days to adjust his condition."
"What? Res... rest?" Upon hearing this, their eyes widened like copper bells.
How could he rest?
"Did he say for how many days?"
That, Director Jin really didn't know.
But he wasn't too concerned either. "Anyway, with his foundation, whether he trains or not doesn't make much difference."
How is it not a big difference?
It's a huge difference!
The people from other divisions thought to themselves, if the benchmark isn't training, wouldn't everyone else just turn into a pile of loose sand?
Sure enough, the next day, when the members of each division learned that Huo Tingzhou hadn't come for training, they all began to grow restless.
To motivate their own team members, the leaders of each division had no choice but to urgently adjust their pep talks.
From the original, "Look at Regiment Commander Huo. He's so much more outstanding than you, yet he still works so hard. What right do you have not to strive?"
It now became, "Look at how humble Regiment Commander Huo is. Knowing you're under pressure, he even took the initiative to give up extra training opportunities. What are you all still standing around for? Hurry up and get training, what are you thinking!"
And you know what? With this mix of coaxing, everyone's motivation actually increased.
The days passed quickly amidst the training, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the Grand Military Competition arrived—
